


In Bloom

by etotakatsuki



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-20 16:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4794698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etotakatsuki/pseuds/etotakatsuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of shorts for TG Lady Appreciation Week.</p><p>1. <b>Touka, Hydrangea:</b> Touka struggles to express herself. Yoriko always understands.<br/>2. <b>Hinami, Daisy:</b> Sometimes Hinami needs a reminder.<br/>3. <b>Rize, Red Carnation:</b> Rize's smile is cold and perfect.<br/>4. <b>Akira, Dahlia:</b> Some things run in families.<br/>5. <b>Saiko, Hyacinth:</b> Saiko thinks of family.<br/>6. <b>Eto, Tiger Lily:</b> It's lonely at the top, but that suits her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Touka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touka or Hydrangea: Perseverance, Heartfelt Emotions, Gratitude at Being Understood
> 
> Touka struggles to express herself. Yoriko always understands.

Touka tightens her grip on the bouquet in her hands, palms clammy with nerves.

The flowers are beautiful. Hydrangea, she thinks they’re called. When she explained why she wanted a bouquet, the florist had assured her that these flowers would be perfect – apparently they meant something in some kind of flower language, something that conveyed how she felt without having to explain it.

She glances up from the flowers and shifts back and forth on her feet, waiting outside the tiny shop where Yoriko works.

This isn’t the first time Touka has met Yoriko when her shift ends. They used to do this all the time in high school: pick each other up from work to spend the rest of the day together.

But this is the first time they’ve done this since… Since Yoriko found her again. 

It’s something Touka thought she’d lost, something she’d given up for good, and the simplicity of being able to wait for her best friend like this seems almost like it doesn’t belong in her life.

But she doesn’t have any more time to worry, because suddenly Yoriko appears in the doorway, waving goodbye to her coworkers, and Touka’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of her chest. And then Yoriko turns, spots Touka waiting awkwardly a few meters away, and her face lights up with joy.

She rushes up to Touka, all cheery greetings and bubbly energy, and then she spots the flowers.

“Oh!“ Yoriko exclaims. "They’re beautiful!”

Touka licks her lips, mouth suddenly dry, and says, “They’re for you.”

Yoriko’s large eyes fix on Touka, and she feels her heart leap into her throat. And then she smiles, that perfect, heart-melting smile she always saves, just for Touka. And like magic Touka feels her nerves calm, just for Yoriko.

But Yoriko is still watching her. She can tell Touka has more to say, and she’s waiting patiently. So Touka tries again, “I wanted to thank you.”

Yoriko’s smile falters into confusion. “For what?” she asks, perplexed.

 _She really doesn’t know,_  Touka realizes, and she can’t help but smile.

Touka thinks of when she first met Yoriko, when she was still new to the human world. New and afraid and bristly.

Yoshimura had talked her into school, so there she was, in her uniform with her books, feeling self-conscious and out of place, and glaring at anyone who tried to speak with her. Scaring humans away was a skill she took pride in, and was easier than talking to any of them. Because what if she said something strange, what if they realized she didn’t belong, what if she drew attention to herself,  _what if she gave herself away?_

But then Yoriko… Yoriko saw her sitting alone, and ignored her glares to sit beside her. Yoriko saw her watching their classmates together, and started talking to Touka like an old friend, even though Touka never talked back. Yoriko saw that Touka never brought a lunch, and started packing extra food. She saw how Touka bristled when she was uncomfortable, and pushed back against her temper just enough to calm her down.

If it weren’t for Yoriko, Touka wouldn’t have lasted one week.

Even months later, when she’d gotten used to the human world, and she wasn’t afraid, Yoriko felt like the only thing that kept her going.

Whenever Touka started to doubt herself, started to wonder why she bothered trying, started to contemplate dropping out, Yoriko was there. She would offer to help Touka study, or invite her to spend their Sunday together, or bring her presents “just because”. And suddenly, everything seemed worth it.

And now, years later, after Touka disappeared without warning and Yoriko figured out exactly what that meant, Yoriko is still here. Yoriko found her again, accepted her, loved her. No, _loves_  her.

Touka feels an emotion swelling up in her chest, and she pushes the flowers into Yoriko’s hands before it overwhelms her. After a moment of hesitation, Yoriko takes them.

“For,” Touka tries to explain, feels her tongue fumbling over the words, “for everything.”

Yoriko blinks, staring, and Touka feels her nerves bubbling up again. But then Yoriko smiles, that smile just for her. She reaches out to take Touka’s hand, and Touka knows she understands.

Not for the first time, she wonders what she did to deserve someone like Yoriko in her life. 


	2. Hinami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinami or Daisy: Innocence, Loyalty, Faith
> 
> Sometimes Hinami needs a reminder.

When Hinami was very small, her father used to bring her flowers.

Each time he left their home, he’d return with a new type of flower for her. She stopped worrying so much when he left her and Mother alone, because there would always be a new flower to wear in her hair, and then press in her book.

The last flower he brought her was a daisy. She beamed and added it to her collection, laying it carefully between fresh pages of her book.

Her father ruffled her hair, and commented that her book was getting full. She grinned up at him and agreed. The book barely stayed closed now, its pages thickened with pressed flowers, and she showed him proudly.

He promised to bring her a new one to fill the next time he went out.

“I’ll find you a book with a pretty cover, alright?” he’d told her, tucking her hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead goodbye.

She never saw her father again. 

* * *

Tsukiyama brought her flowers too.

He couldn’t have known what it would mean to her the first time he visited her new home and presented her with a huge bouquet, but he seemed to realize how important the simple gesture had been to her. Because every time he visited, he made sure to bring her flowers.

He sat with her and told her the names of each, the meanings in his flower language. She pressed her favorites in her book, and made notes of the meanings beside each.

It was a small comfort, but it made her feel at home, and cherished.

But those days too came to an end.

* * *

Now, in Aogiri, she has no one to bring her flowers. So instead, she plants her own.

After she joined, she’d found pots and planters, soil, and seeds. She found a book on gardening, and taught herself to care for her plants. And she planted a different flower for everyone she loved, and daisies for herself. 

Once, Ayato asked her why she bothered.

She’d smiled softly at him, and answered simply, “Sometimes, I need a reminder.”

He’d scoffed, but he didn’t ask her again, and he let her tend to her flowers in peace.

A small smile spreads across her lips as she recalls his face now. Maybe he didn’t understand exactly what she meant, but he understood that it was important to her, and that was enough.

She sets her watering pail down beside her, and kneels before a planter full of daisies – the first flowers she planted after she joined Aogiri. She breathes deep, lets her eyes slip closed, and remembers.

She thinks of the people she loved each time she sits among her flowers now. She thinks of her mother, of her father. She thinks of Kaneki, of Tsukiyama, of Banjou and the trio. She thinks of Touka, of Yoshimura, of everyone else at Anteiku. She thinks of the people she’d lost, and she plants flowers for them.

To remind her of who she used to be: small and frail and innocent, needing someone to care for her, just like her flowers. And to remind her of why she had joined Aogiri: so she’d never be that way again. 


	3. Rize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rize or Red Carnation: Pride and Beauty  
> Rize’s smile is cold and perfect.

Rize’s smile is cold and perfect.

She perfected it years ago. The gentle upturn of her lips, the flicker of a downward gaze, the flutter of long eyelashes, the soft sweep of her hand pushing hair behind her ear and drawing attention to the faintest of blushes on her pale cheeks.

And then her victim is like putty in her hands.

She finds it hilarious how simple this game has become for her, after so much practice.

It’s second nature now to play the shy, timid girl, unaware of her beauty and easily taken in by anyone who gives her the slightest bit of attention.

People are always willing to trust a pretty face.

* * *

Rize has always known she is beautiful, and has always reveled in it.

Even now, merely walking down a street of shops, she can feel the stares, and she smile broader. She spots a florist, with a large arrangement of carnations on display outside, and she pauses.

She gasps in feigned amazement, bends down to sweetly close her eyes and pretend to smell the fresh blooms. She knows people are watching, and the act is a thrill, giving her almost the same buzz as luring prey.

“Ah, so you spotted our new display,” a gentle voice says beside her, and Rize rises slowly, keeping up her performance.

“Oh, yes!” she exclaims easily. “They’re beautiful!”

The florist smiles at her. “Would you like one?” he asks. “Consider it a gift: a beautiful flower for a beautiful lady.”

Rize gasps, presses a palm to her cheek, looks away in faux embarrassment. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly…”

“I insist,” the man continues, gesturing to the arrangement. “Which color would you like?”

She looks up at him timidly through full eyelashes, then at the flowers. “Which one do you think?”

“Red,” he says easily, plucking a full, red flower from the bunch and offering it to her. “It suits you.”

“I’ve always loved how the color red looks on me.” She smiles, cold and perfect. “Would you like to have coffee sometime?”


	4. Akira

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira or Dahlia: Inner Strength, Dignity, Commitment
> 
> Some things run in families.

When Amon brings in the vase of dahlias, Akira freezes.

She feels the breath leave her lungs, like someone’s punched her in the chest.

Amon notices immediately.

“Ah, are you alright?” he asks awkwardly, fumbling to place the flowers down on his desk while fixing all his attention on her.

She realizes her mistake and tries to compose herself, painting her face in a blank mask and blinking away stinging tears. She can’t open up to Amon Koutarou about this, not him of all people.

“I’m perfectly fine,” she replies curtly, turning back to her desk and fixing her skirt as she sits. “Let’s get to work.”

She feels him staring into the back of her head, and she forces herself to keep working, sorting through paperwork and writing notes and making herself look like she isn’t shaken by those flowers.

She waits for Amon to sit down at his own desk, as if that would take some of the weight from her. But he stands, hovers beside her, just staring, and she feels like she’s going to snap.

Until he speaks, “Mado used to bring dahlias to the office, when we were working an especially difficult case.” Amon pauses. “He said they kept him motivated. I thought…”

Akira places her pen on her desk, but she keeps her eyes fixed on her paperwork. “They were my mother’s favorite flower,” she tells him, and doesn’t need to see him to know he tenses, awkward, unsure what to say.

In his silence, she continues, “She said they represented the best parts of herself, the parts she valued the most.”

Amon nods, though he doesn’t understand, not really. He never knew her mother, never knew her strength.

That strength was what saved her father, what let her grow up with one parent instead of none. Until…

Akira exhales, and picks up her pen again. There’s no point in dwelling on this now. She has work to do, and a commitment that runs in her blood.


	5. Saiko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saiko or Hyacinth: Playfulness, Constancy, Family
> 
> Saiko thinks of family.

“Maman, look!" 

Sasaki gives her an exasperated smile over his shoulder. She knows they’re running late, but instead of scolding her, he just sighs and follows.

She drags him along to the window that caught her attention, pressing her palms to the glass as she peers inside. “So pretty!” she exclaims, unable to tear her eyes away from the bulbs of flowers, purple blossoms pointing in every direction.

Sasaki bends down beside her for a closer look. “Oh, those are hyacinths, I think. They mean family,” he tells her seriously. Always full of information, her Maman. 

“Ah!” he exclaims, glancing at his watch. “The others must be hungry! It’s getting late.”

Saiko knows he’s trying to prod her into leaving, and she lets him. She’s too distracted by her own racing thoughts to find any other detours.

She wonders how other people feel about families. Are other families like hers? She thinks of her brother, who she hasn’t seen in a long time. She thinks of her mother, and how she doesn’t want to see her for a long time.

And she thinks of her squad, who she’s been living with for more months than she can remember right now. 

“I’ll be right back!” she shouts, and she’s gone an instant later, leaving Sasaki standing alone on the sidewalk, frowning at her retreating figure.

* * *

She strikes later that evening, while Maman is preparing dinner. She sneaks up behind him while he pretends not to notice, and tugs on his shirt sleeve until he turns to look at her.

"For you, Maman,” she declares seriously, presenting a small flower with both hands.

Sasaki blinks down at her, confused until his eyes focus on the flower. She watches his expression change as he realizes what flower she’s giving him.

“Saiko, I…” He trails off as he takes the flower, staring at it reverently. She knows he understands.

But if he has something else to say, she doesn’t stick around to hear it. She still has three more flowers to deliver. 


	6. Eto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eto or Tiger Lily: Passion, Nobility, Wealth
> 
> It’s lonely at the top, but that suits her.

She sits on the roof of a tall building, looking down at the city, twirling a flower between her fingers.

She’d found it laying on the ground, discarded. One petal was torn. She thought that made the flower more beautiful.

Now she glances down at it, illuminated in the glow of the city at night. It’s a tiger lily, she knows, orange and spotted. She smiles, and thinks of what it means.

There’s a language of flowers, she knows, as any good aspiring novelist should. And this one… This one means nobility.

She holds the flower up above her, tilting her head back to stare at it amongst the black backdrop of the sky. How fitting that she would find this flower today of all days. The day when she decided what she needed to do to accomplish her goals. And the day she picked a new name for herself.

The One-Eyed Owl was a good name, especially infamous as it was. But she needed something better. Something that made it clear who was in charge. Something that told everyone who was at the top, who they should fear. Not just a leader, but a ruler.

She grinned and tucked the flower behind her ear.

Being an owl suited her. But being a king suited her better.


End file.
